When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Crimson Bound is a standalone young adult fantasy. I am hesitant to call it a re-telling or even a re-imagining of Little Red Riding hood (or the Girl with No Hands, which I have not read) because it is so utterly unique and different from anything I have read, that it almost isn’t fair to Crimson Bound to be making those comparisons. I have not had the chance to read Cruel Beauty yet, but the book is basically at the very tippity top of my wishlist! I want it so bad, and I have to admit that I want it even worse after reading Crimson Bound.

It is hard for me to put into words the way that Crimson Bound made me feel, and exactly why I loved it so much. But I do know this…it was the writing. Rosamund Hodge is an incredible story teller. Her writing feels rich and thick. Her words wrap you up so completely until you are a part of the world she is creating. And oh, what a world! I bow down to her world building abilities. I loved the way she initially wove in the basics of the world and their myths through young Rachelle’s lessons. After the first two chapters it took a couple more chapters for me to gain my bearings because the events jump ahead a bit in the beginning. But once you get your fantasy legs on, it is like a very creapy and wonderfully detailed playground for your imagination. I loved reading about the palaces and the Great Forest. I was all at once fascinated and terrified of it, alongside of Rachelle.

And speaking of Rachelle, I really liked her. Even when I was shaking my head at her, I still really really liked her. There is something compelling about her. She is complicated and her view of herself endeared her to me. She wasn’t easy on herself. But the great characters didn’t stop at Rachelle, the whole cast were excellently portrayed. I love that this book was set in French history. The salon’s and salon ladies were a great addition, that I wouldn’t have thought of with this book.

I am kind of in love with this book, and I know I am head over heels in love with Rosamund Hodge’s writing. I need her to write more books because she transported me to another world that I could have sworn I could see, smell and touch while I was reading Crimson Bound. And if the beyond brilliant writing, and characters aren’t enough, the plot of Crimson Bound will have you guessing up until the very end. I really enjoyed this book. You need to experience its’ magic for yourself.

I’ve read such varying reviews on this one Michelle, but of course that only makes me more curious to see what I’ll think. I absolutely LOVED Cruel Beauty, so I have little doubt I’ll be equally enthralled by this one. I’m so glad to hear it worked so well for you, you’ve got me really excited to give it a try!

OOh nice review! I still need to read this one but glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! Cruel Beauty was amazing too, so I know I will love this one! She also wrote a short story/novella called Glided Ashes that was set in the Cruel Beauty universe, but is more of a Cinderella story! It was also really good! Great review!

Grogeous Review, Michelle! I’m so glad you loved Crimson Bound as much as I did. You’re right about the writing simply drawing you in. I tend to like complicated heroines so this was perfect read for me. Rachelle made me shake my head a time or two as well, but I so enjoyed her character. I hope you get the chance to read Cruel Beauty soon – I’d love to see you thoughts on it 🙂

Storytelling definitely goes quite a way in making a book amazing, Michelle! And I’m glad you found Crimson Bound to be very original and unique! I often stay away from books that have too many comparisons to others, because it usually makes my expectations far too high.
I’m adding this to my TBR, it sounds very interesting.
Have a wonderful Wednesday and happy reading.

I’m glad that you liked this! I was actually a little disappointed. I had loved Cruel Beauty so much, it was just hard to read in comparison. But I do agree that the setting and the fairy tale elements were awesome.

Great review! I’ve been wondering about this one, I’m very character driven in my likes, I need to really feel for them to fall into a book, so I’m encouraged by how you liked Rachelle! I will definitely have to add it to my wishlist!

This really sounds like a fantastic read, I’m definitely grabbing Cruel Beauty as well. I actually thought that Crimson Bound was book 2 to Cruel Beauty. Great review she sounds like a magnificent author!

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